About

$12,292

185

backers

Dear Kickstarter Community,

Leonardo Da Vinci once said "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." So I'll get right to it. Here's the who, what, when, where, and why.

Who are you?

I'm Matt Phillips. I'm 20. I play with a band called Matt Phillips & the Philharmonicout of Greenville, NC. The band is Gregory Williams, Tre Harrison, Travis Huff, and Connor Mangold - all current/former ECU music majors I met when I went to school there.

What are you doing?

We're making a 10 song album of original music, written by me, arranged with the help of the band, and produced by Ian Schreier. Our music resembles pop, but it touches on jazz, blues, funk, and folk. And, after making my first record with Ian, it became clear to us both that my music would sound better with the full band arrangement. So, after months of planning, rehearsal, and pre-production, we're going into the studio to record our first album. We're tracking the bulk of it live and hoping to become a better band in the process.

When does this go down?

Rehearse through late March. Record in early April. Once it's mixed, we do several months worth of paperwork. We want it in your hands by summer.

Where are you recording?

Manifold Recording - it's where I recorded, Bones, my solo EP. After interning there after high school graduation, I can't imagine a better place to make our first group record. Beautiful and incredibly versatile, Manifold is a place that inspires great performances and captures them unlike any other.

Why?

During my internship, I watched Ian work with a huge range of musicians. Classical, choral, jazz, prog, and pop. And after he made Bones with me, I understood why people came to him from all genres. Put simply, Ian knows what sounds good. As we agreed to move forward on the band record, he decided that he wanted us to record our parts together, "live in studio."

As we began to rehearse the songs with him, soaking up production knowledge one eight-hour practice at a time, we remembered why we had never been in a rush to get into the studio before. If our study of music had taught us anything, the only way to get better is to practice. We didn't feel like we were ready to make a great record, so we put our noses to the grind stone and did our homework. And because of the effort of the whole team, we're ready to deliver a performance worth recording.

Risks and challenges

In the spirit of full disclosure, I bit off WAY more than I could chew with my last Kickstarter campaign. I grossly underestimated the amount of work that would go in to making a record happen on a budget of donations, and it cost me. Last time, I started working hard once the campaign was funded. This time, five band members, five families, and a producer have started working 6 months in advance to make sure we can deliver on such a big project.

After this money is raised, we hope to use this album as a tool to book our shows, grow our fan base, and earn the money to tour the country over the summer. This music is our livelihood. Through this project, we've discovered the need to form an LLC, to write-up and sign contracts, and to set ourselves up for careers in the music business. We have too much stake in this project to see it go to waste.

Our planning has been well advised; we've taken every precaution. After my experience with the first campaign, we aim to be as efficient and deliberate as possible. We've already started stockpiling rewards and we'll prepare them as your pledges roll in. If you want a career in music, you have to run the band like a business. So you, the customers, come first. We have multiple people that will check the page each day, so feel free to comment or message with questions.

In many ways, I owe my career to Kickstarter. Now, as a band, we're ready to reinvest in this community and make you some music worthy of your contribution.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

Spend a day at Manifold Recording with us during tracking (dates in early April to be determined, fixed location, message for details). (All pledges $10 and over get a digital download of the new record.)